Hall of Fame Inductee
Class of 2015
Eli Whitney Blake
Eli Whitney Blake, a 19th-century inventor, found a less costly and more efficient way to crush stone when he developed a rock crusher in 1851 that he patented by the end of the same decade. Before Blake’s invention, stones were crushed with hand hammers in what amounted to an expensive and tedious process. As a town committee member in New Haven, Conn., Blake took an interest in this area because road builders were encountering challenges with the construction of a two-mile road leading out of town. Blake’s answer to their challenge was the development of a steam-powered machine that consisted of a pair of jaws that crushed stone into desired shapes and sizes. Blake originally called his invention a “stone breaker.” He later formed the Blake Rock Crusher Co. Photo: Blake Rock Crusher Co.